The Background
According to a study published in The Research Quarterly, 10 minutes of jump roping is equal to 30 minutes of running when it comes to improving cardiovascular efficiency. As a busy college student who would love to exercise for just 10 minutes a day, this stat sounded simply too good to be true, so I decided to dig a little deeper.
The Research
The study took place in 2012 with 92 males split into two groups. For six weeks, one group ran for 30 minutes a day and one group jump roped for 10 minutes. The subjects were administered the Harvard step test before and after, and both groups experienced the same growth in cardiovascular efficiency.
Of course, this study only measured cardiovascular efficiency. How does jump roping affect one's muscles?
Running primarily works muscles in the lower body like the glutes, hamstrings, and quads. Jumping rope, on the other hand, works muscles in your thighs, hips, calves, shoulders, back, core... the list goes on. It's certainly more of a full-body workout.
Finally, I looked at the impact both exercises have on a person's joints. According to research in "Gait and Posture," running produced almost twice the average force on the kneecap vs. jumping rope. Additionally, running produced an almost 30 percent greater average force on the tibiofemoral joint, or knee hinge.